Showing results by narrator "Stewart Crank" in All Categories

In the autumn of 1982, a single stone fell from high on the south face of Annapurna and struck Alex MacIntyre on the head, killing him instantly and robbing the climbing world of one of its greatest talents. Although only 28 years old, Alex was already one of the leading figures of British mountaineering's most successful era. His ascents included hard new routes on Himalayan giants like Dhaulagiri and Changabang and a glittering record of firsts in the Alps and Andes.

Ahren and his companions journey on to Evergreen, finding new courage after the traumas of the Green Sea. Setting off, then, to traverse the continent in search of the missing Paladin Yollock, it isn't long before they find themselves sucked into a maelstrom of adventures involving a woman who has been robbed, a desperate Cape Verstaad grandee, not to mention a cutthroat city which proves itself a veritable nest of ne'er-do-wells. Controlled by the brilliant assassin Reik Silvermantle, this hub of lawlessness and immorality presents Ahren and his friends with one of their greatest challenges.

Follow the adventures of a local vet and the various farm animals who need his help and care over the course of one summer. Set against the wild and beautiful Yorkshire hills, these ten stories featuring farmyard favourites such as horses, goats, cows and more are sure to delight and inspire a love of animals from the youngest age.

The virus sweeps across South America. The world is on high alert. It's coming for us... A video hits the Internet and quickly goes viral. A video showing a woman, attacked, bitten and dying.... before rising again. Experts confirm the video as a fake. A prank. But all the expert denials count for nothing when the virus reaches the UK. Chloe finds herself left behind, abandoned by Steve who rejoins the army to fight the new enemy. She'll be forced to survive on her own. Whatever it takes.

I guess trying to catch the bus with your laces undone isn’t such a smart decision after all… One fatal collision later, and I’m facing my judgment. As it turns out, I’ve been a lazy sob, and my short, uneventful life of playing games and getting up late wasn’t worth much. And so I don’t qualify to move on to the afterlife. I try to argue to the goddess in front of me that I do have skills, that it was hard work playing those simulation and management games. But she will not concede. In the end, I manage to get the benefit of the doubt, and a wager is made.

In Wild Winter, John D. Burns, best-selling author of The Last Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, sets out to rediscover Scotland’s mountains, remote places and wildlife in the darkest and stormiest months. He traverses the country from the mouth of the River Ness to the Isle of Mull, from remote Sutherland to the Cairngorms, in search of rutting red deer, pupping seals, minke whales, beavers, pine martens, mountain hares, and otters.

It should be the best time of half-vampire Cat Crawfield's life. With her lover Bones at her side, she's successfully protected mortals from the rogue undead. But though Cat's worn disguise after disguise to keep her true identity a secret from the brazen bloodsuckers, her cover's finally been blown, placing her in terrible danger. As if that wasn't enough, a woman from Bones's past is determined to bury him once and for all. Caught in the crosshairs of a vengeful vamp, yet determined to help Bones stop a lethal magic from being unleashed, Cat's about to learn the true meaning of bad blood.

This classic collection of animal stories follows the adventures of a local vet and the various animals who need his help and care. From a poorly cow who needs urgent treatment, a lost pony who needs rescuing or even a cheeky cat who keeps getting into mischief, this heartwarming collection of animal tales, set against the beautiful, snowy backdrop of the stunning Yorkshire landscape, is perfect to be shared together at this special time of year.

Magazine editor and part-time archaeologist, Gill McArdle is getting it together. Or at least, he thinks he is, until the death of a friend throws his life into turmoil. He’s on Orkney, researching an elaborate stone carrying an ancient religious motif. But he’s perplexed as the carving long predates any previous incidence of the symbol’s first use. Either someone is tampering with Orcadian archaeology, or Gill is facing a puzzle that can’t be resolved.

"It’s a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, it’ll be the hardest thing that’s been done in the Himalayas." Thus spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unscaled West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington’s was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition.

Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am. Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.

Gill McArdle is on the island of Iona searching for the burial places of kings. What begins as an archaeological survey risks descending into a treasure hunt and Gill suspects subterfuge from new enemies as well as old. And when a find on Iona sheds a little light on the nature of ‘The Torn Isle’, Gill doesn’t like what he sees.

I draw the line at serving people grasshoppers for dinner. As luck would have it, on the same day I quit my job as head chef at Suzette’s, a fine-dining restaurant in Boston, I was offered an opportunity to open a restaurant at a castle in Scotland. But now that I’m here in Loren Brae, I’m not so sure this city girl can hack it.

In the deepest Himalaya, a story is spreading like wildfire. The story of an Everest expedition unlike any other. An expedition that ended with mysterious disappearances...and death. This is the mystery that 18-year-old Ryan Hart sets out to solve. Ryan is on a gap year adventure, working for a medical charity in Nepal. When a local girl begs him to investigate why her 16-year-old friend Kami never came back from Everest, Ryan cannot resist the challenge.

On 30 January, 1981 Joe Tasker and Ade Burgess stood at 24,000 feet on the west ridge of Mount Everest. Below them were their companions, some exhausted, some crippled by illness, all virtually incapacitated. Further progress seemed impossible. Everest the Cruel Way is Joe Tasker's story of an attempt to climb the highest mountain on earth - an attempt which pushed a group of Britain's finest mountaineers to their limits. The goal had been to climb Mount Everest at its hardest: via the infamous west ridge, without supplementary oxygen and in winter.

DI George Wiley is calling in a favor. As head of a new unit tackling cold and unusual cases, he presents Gill McArdle with a bag of human teeth. His evaluation – a serial killer has been operating undetected in Scotland for decades. With no leads in the case, Wiley wants Gill to leverage his contacts. But Gill McArdle feels under no obligation as he has a puzzle of his own to solve. Roadworks in the Scottish Highlands have uncovered an old battlefield site, and now the race is on to complete an archaeological dig before the site is buried under tarmac.

What if running in beautiful places was paradoxically contributing to the destruction of those precious environments and causing irreversible global harm to people and animals, too? In We Can’t Run Away from This, ultrarunner Damian Hall examines the impact of running in our climate and ecological emergency. Packed with insights from experts, it is an enlightening book that will prompt us all to really think about our kit, food, and travel and to identify simple changes we can make to our running and wider lives.

Mo never wanted to be a Warden—protecting the village of Bogfoss from the terrifying monsters in the woods is way too scary. But when he's beaten up by a goblin on his first patrol, he knows he has to prove himself. So he sets out into the forbidden woods to catch himself a monster and make himself a hero. But when a sausage roll-baited booby trap flips him into Grumpfort, the monsters' secret lair, he realises he's in big, BIG trouble. Mo's escape plan is simple—capture a monster, avoid being eaten, and do not make any friends.

When you’re the editor of a successful investigative journal, you don’t dash around Scotland chasing after loch monsters. But Gill McArdle didn’t believe in unicorns either, and speaking honestly, he was fortunate to walk away from that one. He’s a scientist, and not one of the wild-eyed optimists spending their days, scanning the loch for a creature. And here’s his problem. With every passing hour, evidence mounts that something is stirring.

Just when things couldn't get much worse, they suddenly do. With DS Zander Ellery in jail, his partner DC Isabel York fights to clear his name. Not an easy task when she is suspended from duty and the evidence against him is compelling. Finally, pieces begin to fall into place, but to catch the Prayer Slayer once and for all, both officers must walk down a dark path where their very souls are at risk of being taken.